Scapegoat Complex (Studies in Jungian Psychology By Jungian Analysts) by Sylvia Brinton Perera

Studies in Jungian Psychology by Jungian Analysts #23

by Sylvia Brinton Perera

A revealing study of victim psychology based on historical rituals, dreams, mythology, case material and archetypal patterns. Shows that scapegoating is a way of denying the dark side of the shadow by projecting it onto others.

Genres: Psychology, Philosophy, Nonfiction, Self Help

Paperback

First published December 1, 1985

About the author

Sylvia Brinton Perera, M.A., is a Jungian analyst who lives, practices, teaches, and writes in New York and Vermont and lectures worldwide. Originally trained as an art historian, she earned her M.A. in psychology and graduated from the Jung Institute of New York. Her publications include Descent to the Goddess; The Scapegoat Complex; Dreams, A Portal to the Source (with E. Christopher Whitmont); Celtic Queen Maeve and Addiction and The Irish Bull God: Image of the Multiform and Integral Masculine.

Reviews

[Théo d'Or]

- Welcome, my dear. Name ? Ailment ?

- Uh...I'm Dino. In fact , my name is Fred. But my friends tell me that I look like Dino. You know, the one from the Flintstones ...

- Mmm... not at all . You look more like Wilma.

- Wh...

- Just a minute. Do you prefer your prescriptions in haiku or limerick form ?

- Ah..whatever.. Doc, I think I suffer from EH. You know.. existential hiccups...

- Hmm.. Never heard.

-You know, those sudden bouts of cosmic insignificance during grocery shopping.

- Aaaah, the " Cosmic Checkout Crisis ". Happens to the best of us, don't worry. Have you tried humming " I feel Pretty ", while selecting cereal ?

- Uff...no.. But I did recite the Fibonacci sequence to a bag of quinoa.

- Excellent. Let's discuss your reccuring dream. Does it involve tap-dancing penguins and a sentient rutabaga ?

- How did you kn..

- Standard procedure. The rutabaga represents suppressed childhood memories of vegetable rebellion. Try whispering " I feel Pretty '. So, you also told me about your " Scapegoat Complex ". Tell me, have you ever blamed your toaster for your failed relationships ?

- Oh, yes ! It once said " your love life is toast ".

- Classic projection. Now, let's explore your obsession with collecting rubber ducks. It is related to your fear of commitment ?

- Doc... the ducks...they quack secrets . Last night, one whispered " Your fear of commitment is quackers."

- Hmm... Yikes !! Sorry, my dear, I gonna leave you now . I forgot that I have an appointment for my Scapegoat Complex.

- But .. y..

- Don't forget, always hum " I feel Pretty ". It helps.

- I feel.. prettyyyy...oh, so.... prettyyyy...

[zen zen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I feel so much guilt for deciding to leave my scapegoating parents. After reading this book I efficiently disidentified from the scapegoat identified individual that I am. Now, I relieved myself of the guilt. And reading books on the complex will help me recover tremendously.

[Qasim Zafar · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Scapaegoat Complex:
This is a short book, but it does a good job of explaining the archetypal make up of the scapegoad complex. The author explains its representation in mythology, culture as a whole, families, and what it looks like in the scapegoated individual. In order to understand the archetypal aspects of this book, the reader should already have a cursory understanding of the personal and collective consciousness and shadow. Here are a few resources which helped me, and might help you engage more deeply with the book's material.

Resources:
1. Scapegoat: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAZEA...
2. Self Sacrifice and Subjugation Schemas: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRQPG...
3. Subjugation Schema: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8mC4...
4. Emotional Inhibition schema: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MBQz...
5. Scapegoat - The Goat for Azazel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wt6zx...
6. This Jungian Life (Episode 34) - The Scapegoat: https://youtu.be/y5gVWvOq4Po
7. Narcissistic Scapegoat Dynamic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxKMB...
8. Narcissist Offspring The Role of a LIfetime Scapegoat: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9Yca...
9. Why are So Many Men Psychologically Infantile?: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxePu...
10. Golden Child and Scapegoat Black Sheep: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCn7i...
11. Beyond scapegoating: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjBBh...

[JP · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some authors will be writing a book after they are called upon by cosmos to do.
If you know the subject, you walk in a straight line and write precisely to help the reader to understand and make use of it.
We all would have practiced the scapegoat activity on a certain period of time and would have come out on our own by setting aside.
Here, psychoanalysts take utmost effort to treat such a complex.
The absence of religious practice in sacrificing the goat and by getting relieved are all absent today...
a lovely book but very hard to read... 

[Michael Nguyen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting read. It explored the scapegoat complex, which is when the collective shadow is projected onto the individual, and their own shadow becomes repressed as a result. The book explores the original scapegoat ritual in Judaism, the appearance of the scapegoat complex in dreams, and in Jungian psychoanalysis. Much of the book is focused on treating patients, the majority of the book deals with this. So if you’re not that interesting Jungian analysis and analysand work you may find this book uninteresting. The parts about the positive potential of the shadow is interesting, and using dream interpretation to integrate the shadow and the anima or animus is interesting too. Its extremely Jungian.

[Carol Watt · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent book and a very challenging read. It has clearly been written for Jungian analysts and the depth of which it is written would not disappoint that particular audience. As a lay person, it was a complex and profoundly layered book but very much worth the effort.

[Victoria Thompson · Rating 3 out of 5]

The premise of the book is quite satisfying, since it gave a name to something I have suffered. I wish it were a little more straightforward and less scholarly.

[culley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an important book, full of complex theory, but it is an absolute beast to read. BORING. It slips often into a Jungian dialect that I could just barely begin to understand. But it tells a story that is ripe and real— these archetypal patterns are alive in nearly everyone. It is a powerful lens to apply to neurosis, but it seems like it could be overused. So many problems could be seen in the light of the scapegoat complex! Yes, this is an important lens, but so is affect theory— another lens that could be applied to just about all neurosis. Same with British object relations and early childhood wounding. The Scapegoat Complex is a great lens to have in your tool belt— but it is not the only lens. Good stuff— glad it was short.

[David Leroy · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book was published in 1986, and I picked it up used at a local book store. I am working on a character that is caught up in a scapegoat dynamic and I wanted to know more about the topic. It is not a large book, but powerful. The Jungian language can be a challenge to someone not familiar with that psychological model, but for the most part I was able to follow this book without too much of a problem. I plan on reading it again and taking more notes. The situations it uses as examples are believable, and some of the ways the author looks at the scapegoat are very interesting, and provides a very in depth look at this archetype.

[Serena Teacher · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the Scapegoat-identified individual there is a sense of being both the chosen victim and the chosen one. The sacrificial- victim-goat becomes the chosen one-when they become the Scapegoat Transformed!

I highly recommend, The Scapegoat Complex for anyone who has suffered the enormous insurmountable pain!
Serena Jade, author of CHARISMATIC CONNECTION: THE AUTHENTIC UNCOMMON AND ENLIGHTENING SOUL MATE EXPERIENCE.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

The society becomes Azazel, parents become scapegoters and so will their children to their cihildren and so on and on..What a bloody circle..Excellent book.